Sonnet X

For shame deny that thou
bear'st love to any,Who for thy self art so unprovident.Grant, if thou wilt, thou art beloved of many,But that thou none lov'st is most evident:For thou art so possessed with murderous hate,That 'gainst thy self thou stick'st not to conspire,Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinateWhich to repair should be thy chief desire.O! change thy thought, that I may change my mind:Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love?Be, as thy presence is, gracious and kind,Or to thyself at least kind-hearted prove:Make thee another self for love of me,That beauty still may live in thine or thee.

This is the first
sonnet of the series in which
the poet declares a personal interest in the youth, rather than the
general
one of desiring for the world's sake that it be not deprived of his
progeny.
Here there are two statements, firstly, that he wishes to have an
opportunity
to change his opinion of the youth (l.9), as implying that his (the
poet's)
better opinion is of some value; secondly he attempts the persuasive
argument
of 'for love of me' in orderto
produce a change in the youth's
intentions. Neither of these amount to a declaration of love, although
they
do half imply it, for what is love if it is not reciprocated? In any
case
it is in some sense preparatory to the more impassioned statements of
several
of the sonnets which are to follow.

Apart from that, the
argument of this sonnet is
similar to that of the previous one: 'Be not wilfully selfish and cruel
to mankind, but replace and repair your decaying mansion by
procreation.
In that way you live on, and I myself and others will think the better
of
you.'

The 1609 Quarto Version

FOr ſhame deny that thou bear'ſt loue to any
Who for thy ſelfe art ſo vnprouident
Graunt if thou wilt,thou art belou'd of many,
But that thou none lou'ſt is moſt euident:
For thou art ſo poſſeſt with murdrous hate,
That gainſt thy ſelfe thou ſtickſt not to conſpire,
Seeking that beautious roofe to ruinate
Which to repaire ſhould be thy chiefe deſire :
O change thy thought,that I may change my minde,
Shall hate be fairer log'd then gentle loue?
Be as thy preſence is gracious and kind,
Or to thy ſelfe at leaſt kind harted proue,
Make thee an other ſelfe for loue of me,
That beauty ſtill may liue in thine or thee.

Commentary

1. For shame deny that thou
bear'st love to any,

For shame may have an exclamatory sense
(shame on you!) and is printed with an exclamation mark in some
editions.
Otherwise the meaning is 'Prompted by feelings of shame you ought to
admit
that etc.' The word is also an echo from the last line of the previous
sonnet.
That on himself such murderous shame commits
and the two sonnets
are clearly linked by this line and line 5.

2. Who for thy self art so unprovident.

unprovident
= failing to provide for the
future, improvident. From the Latin providere 'to
look ahead'. The
modern usage is 'improvident'.

3. Grant, if thou wilt, thou art beloved of many,

It may be an
argument in your favour that you are
loved by so many. Let us admit (if you desire to use that argument)
that
you are loved by many.

4. But that thou none lov'st is most evident:

But it is evident
that you yourself do not love
anyone. (Therefore there is something seriously amiss). The line is
further
explained in the next quatrain.

5. For thou art so possessed with murderous hate,

murderous
hate refers back to the murderous
shame of the previous sonnet, with its concomitant double
meanings.
He is seeking to murder his posterity by not having children.

6. That 'gainst thy self thou stick'st not to conspire,

'gainst
= against; thoustick'st not = you do
not hesitate, you find no objection
to (sticking point).

Which refers
to the roof of the previous
line. To repair which etc. Continuous repair is necessary to keep a
building
in sound order. To maintain his house (family) should be the youth's
chief
wish. The imagery recurs in Sonn.13:
Who lets so fair a house fall to decay,
Which husbandry in honour might uphold etc.

Will you, who
are the most fair of all creatures,
be the house in which hate is lodged (whereas others, who are uglier,
are
yet capable of demonstrating love). lodged implies
the residence
of an idea in the mind, as in the previous sonnet, where sits
is
equivalent to is lodged. No love toward others in that bosom sits
That on himself such murderous shame commits. 9.
The hatred referred to is that of refusing to procreate, hating
posterity.
See above, note to l.5.

11. Be, as thy presence is, gracious and kind,

Be as your
behaviour indicates you to be, generous,
noble, graceful. presence is indicative of stature,
mien, bearing,
presence of mind in company, and so on.

Produce an heir,
if not for the reasons stated
already, at least do so for love of me.

14. That beauty still may live in thine or thee.

That = so that; still = always, continually; thine = thy children. His beauty will be carried on in his children. beauty here refers to the youth's beauty, both in the individual sense that he as a beautiful youth must preserve himself, but also in that his beauty is the standard for the times, the essential essence of what it is to be beauteous.